World Championships
by Gabriel Ice
Summary: Account of YuGiOh games I've played against my Gameboy, with a made up background story.
1. Beginnings

Beginnings

I sat alone in my hotel room, my card collection strewn over the  
unused side of my bed. I had just one day to prepare for the first  
round of the tournament, and I wanted to make the best of it. That  
meant preparing my deck. My confidence level soared as I perused the  
cards I had available.  
I had recently won several smaller, regional tournaments, and so I  
had amassed quite a few powerful cards that I hoped would serve me  
well in the World Championships. I was still fairly new to dueling,  
and I wished I had more time to form a more optimal deck strategy. I  
felt too much like I was just guessing what I should choose, or just  
picking the cards with the highest star levels.  
Time was slipping away. The first round would be at 7:00 the next  
morning, and it was already 9:30. The main deck I had assembled was,  
I thought, probably good enough, but I wasn't completely sure. I went  
through it one last time, just to be safe.  
I had my cards alphabetized and arranged in rows of eight. 7 Colored  
Fish – two copies of it – sat in the upper left corner of the layout.  
I chose those because they make excellent leadoff cards, and they're  
among the best four-starred offensive cards available. Next came two  
copies of Aqua Madoor, possibly my favorite defensive card and  
certainly the card I sacrificed more than any other as tribute for  
stronger monsters.  
My next card was Axe of Despair, which I had won just a week ago. I  
wasn't quite used to it yet, but I knew I liked it. After that came  
Banisher of Light, a defensive card. Barox was next: a fusion monster  
created from Frenzied Panda and Ryu-Kishin. I don't know why I kept  
the card around, but I was too tired to throw it out. Following that  
was my Black Pendant. It wasn't as good as Axe of Despair, but it was  
a classic equipment card.  
I knew Seto Kaiba loved his Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, and I  
didn't blame him. I had two of them in my deck, gained in a lucky win  
against a better opponent in my first tournament. I still cherished  
them, and I figured I always would.  
More than the Blue-Eyes, however, I cherished Change of Heart, which  
I considered to be the best magic card in all of Duel Monsters. I  
knew I could win the championship if I drew it enough, and I had many  
fond memories of finishing off unsuspecting opponents by playing  
Change of Heart. There are few things more satisfying than using your  
opponent's defensive monster as tribute for summoning something  
fierce.  
I had a couple of mediocre monsters next: Crawling Dragon #2 and  
Curse of Dragon. I especially disliked Curse of Dragon, as it  
required a tribute to play, and it wasn't much stronger than your  
average four-star monster. Still, it wasn't the worst card around.  
Far better, though, was my Cyber-Tech Alligator. This one was also  
new, and it was roughly as good as anything else with its summoning  
cost.  
I had two Dark Magician cards, as well. While they weren't my  
favorites, they could still cause trouble when I could get them out,  
and on many occasions, I had both on the field at once. Most of those  
matches were wins for me.  
Another favorite of mine came next: De-Spell. I loved this card like a son.  
Next I had another great four-star monster, Dunames Dark Witch, which  
had good attack for its level. After that came Flower Wolf and Gaia  
the Dragon Champion. Neither excited me much.  
Gaia the Fierce Knight did, though, and he came next. His summoning  
cost was a little too high for my comfort, but I put up with it.  
Next came a defensive monster, followed by an offensive monster:  
Gamma the Magnet Warrior and Gemini Elf. Following them came a very  
mediocre card, Giant Flea, which was really only good for sacrifices.  
I like Giant Red Seasnake, Giant Soldier of Stone, and Harpie's  
Brother, and I loved Harpie's Feather Duster as much as I loved  
De-Spell. After those came my favorite monster of all: Jinzo. I  
could summon Jinzo with only one tribute, and his special ability was  
to negate all trap cards. Though he wasn't as powerful as most of the  
two-tribute summons, and he couldn't even go head to head with a  
Cyber-Tech Alligator, he was still more useful in common situations  
than stronger monsters. After all, Blue-Eyes White Dragon could still  
be killed by traps.  
Judge Man came next. I held no special affection for him. The same  
was true of King of Yamimakai. I rather liked La Jinn the Mystical  
Genie of the Lamp, though. Last Will, the next card, was a bit of a  
niche card and one of the first I would chose to discard in an  
emergency, but it had still been good to me on a couple of occasions.  
Next was Machine King, a decent monster with a strength that would  
increase if I ever felt like making a themed deck out of machine  
cards. After him came Magic Jammer, which I didn't care for but which  
made for a good insurance card.  
I didn't particularly like Man-Eating Treasure Chest, but it made a  
decent tribute card. Mechanicalchaser was a little better.  
Megamorph came next; it had saved several matches for me. Millennium  
Shield hadn't.  
Mirror Force was one of my favorite trap cards, and Monster Reborn  
was probably my second favorite magic card. I like anything that  
could give me a free special summon.  
Mystical Elf was another of my favorite defense cards, and I had two  
of them. I also had two of Mystical Space Typhoon.  
Neo the Magic Swordsman was next, and he was okay for attacking,  
though nothing special. Pot of Greed was okay, though not as good as  
the next card, Raigeki. Oh, how many duels had turned on the use of a  
single Raigeki card!  
Another of my longtime favorites was my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, when I  
could get it in play. After that came a weaker card, Rogue Doll.  
Seven Tools of the Bandit was one of my favorite trap cards, having  
saved me on multiple occasions.  
Spirit of the Harp was fine for defense. Summoned Skull had been in  
my deck since I first started dueling, though somewhere along the way  
I acquired second copy. I considered it one of the most useful  
monsters in the game, right up there with Jinzo.  
I hated Swords of Revealing Light, but mostly because other duelists  
liked to play their own copies of the card at the most inconvenient  
times for me. I remembered one duel in which my opponent played  
Swords of Revealing Light and then continually played a monster that  
allowed her to bring one magic card back from the Card Graveyard.  
Twice more she drew her Swords of Revealing Light, though her luck  
finally ran out, and I won the duel with some anti-magic card or  
other. The details of the match were hazy, but the feeling of  
frustration at not being able to attack while Swords was in play  
stayed with me.  
I had always felt Total Defense Shogun to be slightly overrated,  
though I still liked being able to play it. My two Trap Hole cards  
were, I felt, excellent, like all trap cards.  
Vorse Raider made an excellent attacker, and Wall of Illusion was  
great against opponents who played tribute monsters.  
My deck finished up with one of my favorite sneaky cards, Witch of  
the Black Forest, whose special ability would allow me to draw  
something like Summoned Skull from my deck. I loved tricking  
opponents with that one.  
I know now that my deck was less than optimal, but at the time, it  
was the best that I could do. Still, it served me well, and I was  
proud of it.  
I was, in fact, proud enough to drift off to sleep after scheduling a  
wakeup call for early the next morning. I would need a good breakfast  
before my first duel. A vision of a full breakfast danced through my  
mind for the final seconds before I pulled the cord to turn out the  
light, and I drifted off to sleep.


	2. Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast was nearly as good in reality as it had been in my  
imagination the previous night. The French toast was especially  
scrumptious. I savored every bite, and then I washed it down with a  
glass of orange juice. All the while, I hoped to myself that my first  
duel would go as well as my breakfast had.  
The cab ride to the stadium was uneventful. I passed the time by  
shuffling my deck and watching scenery out the window. Downtown Seoul  
was quite impressive. Even this early in the morning, the streets  
were packed with pedestrians, the sidewalks were crowded with those  
obnoxious motor scooters that everyone else hated, and the vehicular  
traffic was enough to give me nightmares. I made a mental note to  
take the subway in the future.  
The championships this year were being held at Seoul World Cup  
Stadium. I, as a top contender for the title, had to be escorted in  
the back way in order to avoid being mobbed by zealous fans. Top  
contender? I guess everyone got that label, whether it was true or  
not. I was just a rookie compared to most of the duelists in the  
competition, and I wasn't sure how far I'd go. Still, any title,  
meaningful or not, that would get me the royal treatment of an escort  
and the plate of snack food I found waiting for me in the duelist  
lounge was something I wasn't complaining about.  
Several other duelists sat in the lounge, most of them talking or  
posturing for each other. I recognized most of them from television,  
even though I had not played against any of them before. On one of  
the couches, Tristan Taylor sat conversing with Tea Gardner, Joey  
Wheeler, and Yugi Moto. Yugi Moto… the Yugi Moto. I felt a lump form  
in my throat just thinking about the fact that he was at the same  
tournament.  
Bakura Ryou stood to one side, thumbing through his cards. Next to  
him stood Espa Roba, Mako Tusnami, Rex Raptor, and Weevil Underwood.  
In the corner, scowling at everyone else, was Mai Valentine. She  
looked like she's rather kill everyone rather than duel.  
I didn't recognize most of the other contenders, but a few of them  
were eyeing poster on the bulletin board near the room's entrance. I  
walked over to see what was so interesting, and there I found the  
answer to any questions I might have had concerning who else was in  
the tournament; the poster was a list of the preliminary groups.  
I found myself thrown in with Tristan, Tea, Wheeler, Bakura, and,  
scarily enough, Yugi Moto. The room suddenly grew warmer.  
The poster informed me of the names of the duelists I didn't  
recognize, so I tried to think about those rather than my preliminary  
draw. "Umbra and Lunis" caught my eye. Were they a dueling team?  
Was that even allowed? After them came Arkana, someone named Rare  
Hunter (whose parents apparently had a sense of humor or a lapse in  
judgment while naming him), Strings (probably a pseudonym), and Marik  
Ishtar. After them, I saw Yami Bakura, Ishizu Ishtar, someone named  
Shadi, and the most infamous duelist around, Seto Kaibi. I noticed  
Kaiba was not yet in the lounge.  
The last names I had a chance to read included Maximillon Pegasus,  
someone named Simon, and Solomon Trusdale.  
Interrupting me was an electronic voice issued from a speaker  
somewhere along the wall: "Duelists, please check the main computer  
wall for the first pairings of the preliminary rounds. Duels will  
begin in five minutes.  
Computer wall? I thought. I hadn't seen anything like a computer,  
but seeing as how most of the other duelists filed out of the lounge  
into the hallway after hearing the announcement, I followed after  
them. A short distance farther, I saw the computer.  
It was more like a hallway-installed Jumbotron than a computer, but it  
did its job. It displayed everyone's name and first opponent in big,  
gold letters, along with some instructions about the logistics of the  
tournament. Apparently I had to beat everyone in the prelims twice in  
order to advance. Everyone, including Yugi Moto.  
First, however, I had to deal with Tristan Taylor.

XXX

The crowd outside was unlike anything I had ever seen. They packed  
the stadium and stomped their feet – incessantly, it seemed – in  
anticipation of the opening of the World Championships. Scattered in  
the crowd were people holding banners with athletic slogans, in  
English and Korean and a few other languages. A smattering of  
national flags waved with patriotic gusto. Some sections were already  
chanting. Most wanted to see some of the hometown heroes, of whom I  
knew little. Some Korean whiz kid named Paek Jun had made the trip  
from Pusan, and a slightly older girl, Ko Soo-Yeon of Seoul, seemed to  
be the other crowd favorite. Both were supposed to be pretty good,  
but I did not know how much of their reputations came from unearned  
praise in the local media.  
Tristan looked confident. He also sounded like he knew what he was  
doing. "You don't want to play me in the first round," he shouted  
across the arena. "You're going down!" I ignored his taunts and  
motioned to the moderator that I was ready for the rock-paper-scissors  
game that would determine who would go first. I chose scissors, and  
Tristan chose paper.  
"I elect to go second," I said.  
"Ooh, look at Mr. Show-Off!" My choice already seemed to annoy  
Tristan, which was my goal. "'Look at me! I can win even going  
second.'"  
The moderator, an unassuming Korean man in a suit and slicked back  
hair, raised his hand and shouted surprisingly loudly. "Each duelist  
will be given 8000 life points, as this is the World Championships.  
The player with the first turn may not attack until his or her second  
turn. Now, get ready. It's time to duel!"  
"You're in for it now, rookie," said Tristan. "I play Soul of the  
Pure. My life points increase by 800!"  
He held up his card, and a magnified holographic version appeared on  
the playing field. The crowd sounded its approval.  
"I also put one card face down in defense mode and end my turn. Now  
try and top that." Tristan sneered.  
I said nothing as I drew my next card. I smiled quietly. Vorse  
Raider. That, with my original hand of Harpie's Brother, Giant Red  
Seasnake, Pot of Greed, Black Pendant, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, was  
more than enough to raise my confidence level.  
"I play…" I paused for effect. "Harpie's Brother, in attack mode!"  
With those words, a redish winged beast materialized in the front of  
my side of the playing field and brandished claws at whatever Tristan  
had face down.  
"Go, Harpie's Brother! Attack!"  
Tristan growled as his defense monster revealed itself. Harpie's  
Brother had an attack of 1800, and Tristan's M-Warrior #2 had only  
1000 defense points. A few violent claw scrapes later, Tristan's  
field became empty.  
"I now end my turn," I said. Tristan drew another card.  
"You're going to regret that," he said. I play Monster Rebord to  
bring back my M-Warrior, and I play one more monster face down in  
defense mode. And that's all for me."  
"It's going to take more than a couple of defensive monsters to stop  
me," I declared as I drew Dunames Dark Witch from my deck. "Try and  
stop this. I play… Dunames Dark Witch!"  
Tristan frowned as another monster appeared on my field and prepared  
for battle.  
"Dark Witch, attack his M-Warrior!"  
Several beams of light shot from Dark Witch's fingertips, engulfing  
M-Warrior. A second later, the spot where the knight once stood was  
empty.  
"And now," I said, "Harpie's Brother, attack his face down card!"  
I nearly laughed when I saw the target was Shadow Specter. Attack  
500, defense 200. No challenge.  
"I end my turn. Go, Tristan."  
"Oh yeah? Well, uh, I play another monster in defense mode!"  
"Suit yourself," I said.  
"And, uh, that ends my turn."  
This guy is a pushover, I though. I drew my next card: Mystical Elf.  
It would have been a mistake to play my Blue-Eyes just yet, though.  
"I play Vorse Raider, in attack mode!"  
Tristan looked glum.  
"Harpie's Brother, attack Tristan's face down monster!"  
"And fall into my trap!" Now Tristan smiled. "Behold, Hiro's Shadow Scout!"  
"But your monster only has 500 defense points," I said. "I can  
destroy it easily."  
"Yeah, but now it activates its special ability."  
"Which is?"  
"You have to draw three cards, and all magic cards drawn get sent to  
the Graveyard. And I get to see your new cards."  
"Fine by me," I said. "I don't have any magic cards in my hand."  
"You… what?"  
"You heard me."  
Tristan growled again, and I drew. I drew well: Dark Magician, Trap  
Hole, and Seven Tools of the Bandit.  
"And now," I said, "you have no monsters to defend yourself with. I  
can attack your life points directly! Go Dark Witch and Vorse  
Raider."  
Tristan braced for the impact as my two monsters drained his life  
points by a grand total of 3700.  
"I now place two cards face down and end my turn," I said as I played  
the trap cards I had just drawn.  
"Very well," said Tristan, "but I can undo some of the damage. I  
play Mooyan Curry, which allows me to regain 200 life points, and then  
I put a monster face down in defense mode."  
"You're kidding me, aren't you?" I really had no idea what his  
strategy was, if anything. His deck was apparently just that bad.  
"My turn, then," I said. I drew – Cyber-Tech Alligator. "This ends  
now! I summon… Giant Red Seasnake, in attack mode, and I equip it  
with the magic card Dark Pendant!"  
"I get it," said Tristan. "You're raising your attack by 500 points."  
"Right," I said. "And that will be more than enough to deplete all  
of your life points."  
"You had enough strength anyway," said Tristan, who was clearly no  
longer confident about winning the match. "Why the magic card?"  
"Just in case you have a strong defensive monster, I want to be sure  
to destroy it right away."  
"Ah, I see," said Tristan.  
"Now, Red Seasnake, attack Tristan's face down monster!"  
My Seasnake rose up a couple dozen feet in the air and hovered for a  
second, and then it jabbed – like lightning – at Tristan's monster  
(Kagemusha of the Blue Flame, defense 400, it turned out) and ate it  
like a mouse.  
"And now, Harpie's Brother, Dark Witch, and Vorse Raider, attack  
Tristan's life points!"  
With nothing to defend him, Tristan watched in resigned defeat as his  
life points dropped to zero. The match ended with me the victor.

XXX

My second match with Tristan was later that day. I was eager to  
finish him off and go off to dinner. I had no idea why two matches  
would be on the same day, but at least my first match hadn't even  
caused me to break a sweat.  
"Revenge will be sweet," Tristan crowed, locking eyes with me and  
trying his best to make me flinch.  
I played scissors again, and so did Tristan. Because we tied, we had  
to try again. Once again, we both chose scissors. The third time,  
however, Tristan chose paper.  
"Am I that unpredictable?" I shot to him. "In any case, I'll go second."  
"Same rules as before," said the moderator. "It's time to duel!"  
"Great," said Tristan. "I'll start off with a magic card: Goblin's  
Secret Remedy! That increases my life points by 600. I'll then play  
one monster face down in defense mode and end my turn."  
"Terrific," I said. I drew Giant Flea. The rest of my hand  
consisted of Gemini Elf, 7 Colored Fish, Raigeki, Summoned Skull, and  
Cyber-Tech Alligator. I was happy.  
"I summon 7 Colored Fish in attack mode, and I attack your face down  
monster!" My fish appeared and bit at Tristan's monster, Kojikocy, a  
sword-wielding warrior with a bushy beard and only 1200 defense  
points. Kojikocy vanished.  
"That ends my turn," I said.  
"Prepare to suffer," said Tristan. "I summon Jinzo #7 in attack mode!"  
A small robot-man appeared in front of Tristan. Jinzo #7 had 500  
attack points.  
"My monster is stronger, Tristan," I said.  
"Maybe so, but Jinzo #7 bypasses your monster and attacks your life  
points directly!"  
D'oh! I though, as I took a swipe from a metal arm. I was already  
down by 1100 points, and the duel was only just starting.  
"And that ends my turn," said Tristan. "Had enough?"  
I drew a new card, Dark Magician. "Not even close," I said. "Your  
little trick may have cost me some life points, but I still have the  
stronger monster on the field, and I'm about to add another. I summon  
Gemini Elf in attack mode!"  
Two girls with pointy ears took their place on the field, looking  
scrappy and ready to kill.  
"Attack Tristan's Jinzo #7!"  
My elf twins bounced to the other side of the playing field, made a  
halfway funny, halfway cruel face at Tristan, and kick with the force  
of 1900 attack points at Jinzo #7. Tristan's life points decreased by  
1400.  
"And now, with nothing to block it, 7 Colored Fish will attack your  
life points directly!"  
"Aaaagh!" Tristan's face curled up in anger as his life points moved  
down to 5400.  
"And that's all for now."  
Tristan drew. "I don't get this. You're just a rookie. Why do you  
have such great cards?"  
"I may not have the same sort of experience you do, but I've still  
trained. I know what I'm doing. And I know that you're playing like  
an amateur."  
"Not fair," said Tristan. "Wheeler must have taught me poorly."  
"Whatever your excuse, I'm going to win this duel." I drew, but I  
only got a Giant Flea. "I play Giant Flea in attack mode!"  
"At least you have to play something weak this turn," said Tristan.  
"Yes," I said, "but I'm not done yet. I play the magic card, Raigeki!"  
"My monster!"  
A jolt of electricity shot from my magic card to Tristan's monster  
(Sonic Maid, I found out) and sent it to the Graveyard.  
"Now," I said, "with your defenses down, I can attack your life  
points directly with all three of my monsters."  
7 Colored Fish went first, followed by Gemini Elf and Giant Flea.  
Tristan's life points plunged down to 200.  
"I end my turn. You don't seem as cocky now."  
"No I don't, but I still have this: Mooyan Curry!" Tristan played  
his magic card and recovered 200 points. "I then place one monster in  
defense mode and end my turn. Not like I have anything better to do."  
I drew and got King of Yamimakai. "I sacrifice my Giant Flea to  
summon Cyber-Tech Alligator in attack mode!" As I said this, my Giant  
Flea gracefully bowed out of the match and watched as a cyborg lizard  
took its place. "Now, Cyber-Tech, attack Tristan's monster!"  
Moon Envoy, defense 1000, went down under the force of a single blow  
from Cyber-Tech Alligator's massive claws.  
"And to finish you, I attack your life points with Gemini Elf!"  
Tristan was finished, and I was a fifth of the way toward advancing  
to the second round. The crowd seemed to like my play, though I was a  
relative unknown in Korea. Most of the more popular duelists anywhere  
were Japanese, so I had to labor under the pressure of people rooting  
for both the Japanese stars and the local Korean heroes before they  
could hope for me to win. Still, I figured I could turn myself into  
the lovable underdog if I looked good enough early.  
"Great game there, rookie," said Tristan on the way back to the  
lounge. "I don't think I duel enough. I'm not on par with the rest  
of the guys here. I don't even know why I'm here, except because Yugi  
has the whole dueling world at his feet."  
"You fought well," I told him.  
"My deck didn't stand a chance. Yours looked like it was designed by  
Pegasus himself."  
"I'll take that as a complement," I said. "Now, where is that schedule?"  
"You don't duel again today."  
"Good." I relaxed a bit. "It's dinner time for me."


	3. Street Brawl

Street Brawl

Dinner could not come quickly enough for me. I knew a nice little place not far from the stadium where I could get some nice pork cutlets and soju, so I forgot about the day's duels fairly quickly. There was something soothing about going from the raucous crowds of a giant stadium to the cozy confines of a cheap restaurant that seats at most twenty people yet still serves the meat piping hot the soup extra spicy, and the drinks cold and filling. I wasted no time in placing my order.

The restaurant staff didn't seem to recognize me, which was just as well. I preferred blending in with the local tourists, since I had some idea of how the more well-known international competitors could get mobbed if they tried moving anywhere without a full security regiment. Thank goodness I was an American Duelist, not a Brazilian soccer player.

Dinner was good, but it wasn't as quiet as I anticipated. Halfway through, a group of teenagers in the restaurant recognized me. I had no idea how they found me, but they did. I could tell they knew why I was around because they wore World Championships tee-shirts with my picture on the front. I had a fan club.

They put me through the usual round of autographs and photographs, and they didn't make enough of a ruckus to _completely_ ruin my dinner, but they did do something notable. One of them gave me a small box, wrapped up in shiny paper and tied with a ribbon. Apparently, my fan club wanted me to have a nice good luck charm.

I waited until they were gone to open the box. Inside, I saw pack of cards, some of which were rare and powerful. Some were useless, of course, but I wasted no time in beefing up my deck with my new additions.

As it turned out, I didn't have any time to waste.

XXX

I wasn't the only one done with my tournament dueling for the day. As I walked out the door of the restaurant, I found myself face to face with one of the most feared competitors in the world dueling circuit, Seto Kaiba.

"I'm here to test your mettle," he said. "Rookies like you don't belong in tournaments with the best."

My stomach full of a delicious dinner and my deck full of new surprises, I felt a burst of confidence welling up in me. "Bring it on. I'll show you how I earned my passage."

"Let's duel, rookie."

We found ourselves a picnic table in a nearby park to conduct our match, and we got down to business. Kaiba, of course, attracted a bit of a crowd. I didn't recognize anyone watching.

"I'll go first," Kaiba announced. "First, I'll play a card face down in defense mode, and then I'll play another card face down. That's my turn. Do you have the guts to take me on?"

I nodded. "Watch me as I play Red Sea Snake in attack mode. I now attack your face down monster!"

Kaiba flipped his monster over, revealing Witch of the Black Forest. My card beat his, easily.

"You may think you've made a good move, rookie," he said, "but now I get to summon one card from my deck with a defense rating under 1500. I choose Vorse Raider. Watch me slay your Red Sea Snake next turn."

"Not so fast," I countered. "My turn is not yet over. See, I now choose to play a magic card, Axe of Despair. This raises my Red Sea Snake's attack by 1000 points!"

Kaiba grumbled something to himself and drew his next card. "Watch yourself, rookie. I have something up my sleeve, starting with my magic card, Monster Reborn!"

Was he toying with me? I wondered. What kind of move was that? He must have been throwing the match to make me overconfident.

"Not waiting to summon your Blue-Eyes White Dragon, are you?" I sneered at him, if it was possible for me to sneer after such a lovely meal.

Kaiba ignored me. "I now play a card face down in defense mode and end my turn."

"Nice," I said. "Watch this. First, I put this card face down, for later."

Kaiba watched, unsmiling.

"Now, I play my ultimate trump, Cyber Stein!"

Kaiba's non-smile turned into an expression of horror. It was a fleeting look; Kaiba was not the type to be intimidated easily. Still, I caught it, or at least I thought I did.

"I activate Cyber Stein's special ability," I said. "That lets me sacrifice 5000 life points to summon any monster from my fusion deck. Do you know which one I choose?"

Kaiba didn't answer.

"I choose… Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

I tried hard to put my card on the playing field without any air of showboating, but I probably failed a bit in that regard. After all, I had 4500 attack points on the field, ready to rip Kaiba's defenses to shreds.

"Now, for my attack phase. My Red Sea Snake attacks your face down card."

Kaiba flipped his card over, revealing Sinister Serpent, and then moved it to his Graveyard.

"Next, Blue-Eyes attacks your Witch of the Black Forest. Off with her!"

Kaiba reluctantly removed his Witch and pulled another Vorse Raider from his draw pile.

"Now, I use Cyber Stein to attack your life points directly. Go, Cyber Stein!"

And just like that, Kaiba lost 700 life points.

"It's your turn to suffer, now," Kaiba said. "I summon… Vorse Raider! Prepare to lose life points, you silly rookie."

"Not so fast, Kaiba," I said. "As you summon your Vorse Raider, I play my trap card, Ultimate Offering. This lets me sacrifice 500 life points to summon a monster to my side of the field."

"Big deal," Kaiba said. "I still get to kill your Cyber Stein, and you lose almost half of your life points."

"Not quite," I said. "The monster I choose to summon is Jinzo!"

"Jinzo?"

"Yes, and to summon Jinzo, I have to sacrifice one monster on my side of the field. Of course, I choose Cyber Stein. This leaves your Vorse Raider with nothing to attack."

Kaiba glared at me.

"My turn, I see?" I said. "Good. I play the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, and I use that to destroy your face down card."

Kaiba tossed away what turned out to be a worthless magic card.

"I then summon Mystical Elf in attack mode. Now, you have nothing to defend you except for your Vorse Raider, and I have 10500 attack points on my side of the field. I think that means you lose."

"Good match, rookie," Kaiba said. "I suppose I underestimated you, but don't think I'll come to play at the real tournament with a deck this weak."

"Oh, I know you were just trying to get a feel for what I had with me," I said. "Commendable strategy, and you gave me an opportunity to duel against the best. Thank you."

"See you in the tournament," said Kaiba.

Before I walked off, I caught my fan club out of the corner of my eye. Most of the crowd had been cheering for Kaiba, but they hadn't. They also hadn't stopped cheering since the match ended.


End file.
